What is Yoga?

Yoga is a group of
spiritual practices originating in India. Many Dharmic scriptures
discuss different aspects of Yoga. In the context of the Bhagavad
Gita, the Yoga describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind and
action and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self
(Atman).

For many in the West who don't
understand the history behind it, yoga is simply a means of physical
exercise and strengthening and improving flexibility of the muscles.
However, the philosophy behind yoga is much more than physically
improving oneself. It is an ancient practice derived from India,
believed to be the path to spiritual growth and enlightenment.

Mayor branches of Yoga
are: Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Raja Yoga.
The most popular one in the West is Hatha Yoga and is practiced
mainly for mental and physical health.

Hatha Yoga is seen in
Hinduism as a convenient way to the heights of Raja Yoga (school of
Hindu philosophy); it is a preparatory stage of physical practice
that renders the body fit for meditation.

The Meaning of Yoga

Yoga is a Sanskrit word
which literally means 'yoking' and it refers to practices –
originated from Hinduism – whose purpose is to unite the
individual's mind with the Divinity, that is, the only true reality
which is called Brahman. In other words, yoga consists of some
practices which are designed specifically to induce a state of trance
which supposedly allows the mind to be drawn upward into a yoking
with Brahman. It is a means of withdrawal from the world of illusion
(for according to Hinduism all is illusion) to seek the only true
Reality.

Yoga consists of eight
steps whose aim is to free the individual's mind from its impurities
which hinder man from realizing and knowing the Atman which is within
him. According to Hinduism, Atman is the God that is within all human
beings, which is nothing but what is called Brahman (the universal
Atman which pervades the universe) for Atman and Brahman are one
thing. Therefore, at the core of yoga – no matter what kind of
yoga – is the following doctrine: the Divinity is within every
man, and unless one purifies (or frees) his mind from all the
impurities which hinder him from realizing his Divinity he cannot
realize that he is divine. Yoga is a means through which a man can
realize that he is Brahman (which is falsely called God).
Furthermore, it must be said that yoga is strictly linked with the
doctrine of reincarnation for it is the means through which one can
attain moksha, that is, the liberation from the cycle of
reincarnation. This liberation is achieved when one realizes his
essential union with Brahman.

The eight steps of yoga
are these: yamas, niyamas, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana,
dhyana, and samadhi. The yamas and the niyamas are the major do's and
don'ts. The asanas are meditative postures. Pranayama is breath
control. Pratyahara is the withdrawal from the senses; that is the
stage at which an adept learns how to control the 'tentacles' of
consciousness that are called 'indriyas' in Sanskrit. Dharana is the
discipline of concentration. Dhyana is the discipline of meditation
which leads into samadhi. Samadhi is a consciousness of pure
detachment from the world in which the soul abides in its essence
alone, and in which the yogi discovers his true identity as
transcendent spirit and perceives the basic unity of existence.
Afterwards, the yogi gets to Nirvana, which is a stable Mergence with
the Consciousness of God. The term "Nirvana" means
'complete burning away', i.e. obliteration of one's individuality in
the Mergence with God; at that a man, having expanded and dissolved
in Him, feels that he is God.

Through samyama (that is,
through dharana, dhyana and samadhi) one can obtain some occult
powers. In addition to this, it must be said that the aim of
pranayama is not only to control prana, that is, the vital energy,
but also to arouse the kundalini. Kundalini is the latent power
believed to rest at the base of the spine. When aroused it rages like
a vicious serpent inside a person with a force "that it is
impossible to resist." The kundalini produces supernatural
psychic powers having their source in demonic beings.

There are about ten forms
of yoga. The names of some of them are: raja-yoga, bhakti-yoga,
jnana-yoga, karma-yoga, tantra-yoga, kundalini-yoga, and hatha-yoga.
The most famous form of yoga in the Western world is hatha-yoga,
which many consider merely a neutral form of exercise, a soothing and
effective alternative for those who abhor jogging.

What is the Christian view of Yoga?

For many Christians in the
West who don't understand the history behind it, yoga is simply a
means of physical exercise and strengthening and improving
flexibility of the muscles. However, the philosophy behind yoga is
much more than physically improving oneself. It is an ancient
practice derived from India, believed to be the path to spiritual
growth and enlightenment.

The word "yoga"
means "union," and the goal is to unite one's transitory
(temporary) self with the infinite Brahman, the Hindu concept of
"God." This god is not a literal being, but is an
impersonal spiritual substance that is one with nature and the
cosmos. This view is called "pantheism," the belief that
everything is God and that reality consists only of the universe and
nature. Because everything is God, the yoga philosophy makes no
distinction between man and God.

Hatha yoga is the aspect
of yoga which focuses on the physical body through special postures,
breathing exercises, and concentration or meditation. It is a means
to prepare the body for the spiritual exercises, with fewer
obstacles, in order to achieve enlightenment. The practice of yoga is
based on the belief that man and God are one. It is little more than
self-worship disguised as a high level of spirituality.

The question becomes, is
it possible for a Christian to isolate the physical aspects of yoga
as simply a method of exercise, without incorporating the
spirituality or philosophy behind it? Yes, but then it wouldn't be
called Yoga, it would simply be called normal stretching and
breathing exercise. Everything in Yoga that is related to the pagan
philosophy, i.e., the strange postures, the breathing exercises a
person makes to become "high", and the self meditations or
out of body experiences or trances, must be completely avoided by
Christians (see Dangers of Yoga). Yoga originated with a blatantly
anti-Christian philosophy, and that philosophy has not changed. It
teaches one to focus on oneself instead of on the one true God. It
encourages its participants to seek the answers to life's difficult
questions within their own mind instead of in the Word of God and the
Church. It also leaves one open to deception from God's enemy, who
searches for victims that he can turn away from God (1 Peter 5:8).

Whatever we do should be
done for God's glory (1 Corinthians 10:31), and we would be wise to
heed the words of the apostle Paul: "Fix your thoughts on what
is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and
lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and
worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8).

Yoga: a Hindu (pagan) spiritual discipline

Yoga is a Hindu (pagan) spiritual
discipline which attempts to unite one with the divine within oneself
and unite one with all of creation through breathing, physical
exercises, concentration, etc. The idea that the divine is to be
sought for and found within oneself is, of course, occultic. The idea
that the divine permeates all of creation -- the idea upon which the
practice of yoga is based and toward which it is geared -- is
pantheism, reprobated by Vatican I and other councils and teachings
of the Church:

“The holy,
Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church believes and confesses that there
is one, true, living God, Creator and Lord of heaven and earth...
Who, although He is one, singular, altogether simple and unchangeable
spiritual substance, must be proclaimed distinct in reality and
essence from the world...” (Constitutio Dogmatica de Fide
Catholic, Sess. III, Cap. i)

God is distinct in reality and essence
from His creation. Pantheism teaches that God and the universe are
one. Pantheism teaches that the grass, trees, rivers, lakes, oceans,
etc., were all united with Christ by virtue of the Incarnation.
Pantheism "divinizes" the material world and leads to the
"Gaia" belief of the New
Agers that the material world lives and has a soul, and to
environmental radicalism, in which trees and whales have more rights
that human babies.

Since the practice of yoga is based on
the idea of union with the divine within oneself and within all of
creation, the practice of yoga is therefore an expression of belief
in the condemned pantheistic heresy that God and His creation are a
single thing. Practicing yoga, therefore, is practicing a false
religion and expressing belief in a false god.

The practice of yoga is pagan at best,
and occult at worst... For the first time in history, it is being
widely practiced throughout the Western world and America. It is
ridiculous that even yogi masters wearing a cross or a Christian
symbol deceive people by saying that yoga has nothing to do with
Hinduism and say that it is only accepting other cultures. Some have
masked yoga with Christian gestures and call it "Christian
yoga." Here it is not a question of accepting the culture of
other people; it is a question of accepting another religion. Yoga is
evil because it leads to a worship of Hinduism
and other pagan Eastern religions.

The Dangers of Yoga

Yoga is of the devil for
its purpose is to lead man to realize that he is God (that is, he and
God are one and the same) or to discover within himself his godhood.
Yes, because according to the philosophy that underlies yoga man is
ignorant of his divine nature and thus he needs to discover it, and
yoga is the means which will lead him to this discovery! Listen to
what brother Rabindranath R. Maharaj, who used to practice yoga every
day when he was a guru, says in his book Death of a Guru:

"What
I experienced in meditation agreed with the Vedic teaching about
Brahman, but my experience of life at other times disagreed. In Yogic
trance I felt a oneness with the whole universe; I was no different
from a bug or cow or distant star. We all partook of the same
Essence. Everything was Brahman, and Brahman was everything. 'And
that thou art!' said the Vedas, telling me that Brahman was my true
Self, the god within that I worshiped sitting in front of a mirror."
(Rabindranath R. Maharaj with Dave Hunt, Death of a Guru, Hodder and
Stoughton, Great Britain 1986, page 97)

Whereas the Holy Scripture
teaches that man is just a creature of God and can never become God
(although we can become like unto God by being made partakers of His
glory), and that those who believe they are God are God's enemies for
they are full of pride. In ancient times God rebuked sharply the
prince of Tyre for he believed that he was God, as it is written in
the book of the prophet Ezekiel:

"The
word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the
prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is
lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God,
in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though
thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art wiser than
Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy
wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and
hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom
and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart
is lifted up because of thy riches: Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold,
therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the
nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy
wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee
down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain
in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth
thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of
him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised
by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD."
(Ezekiel 28:1-10)

Some decades ago, God
rebuked also Rabindranath R. Maharaj for the same reason, that is,
because he believed he was God. Pay attention to what he says in his
book Death of a Guru:

"At
the end of my third year in high school, Ma and Aunt Revati invited a
large group of neighbors and relatives to join us in a special puja
in our home. Those arriving approached to make their respectful bows
and to reminisce a bit upon my father's greatness. Their comments,
overheard here and there as the room filled, bore out the admiration
I read in their appraising eyes. I was a Yogi who would bring fame to
our town, a guru who would one day have many, many followers. My
inner conflicts were forgotten in the sheer pleasure of being
worshiped. Although I was not quite 15, I knew that already I had
attained a status among Hindus that was the envy of some pundits. It
gave me a good, honest feeling to know that I was not among the
hypocrites my Uncle Deonarine despised. Our Baba, Pundit Jankhi
Prasad Sharma Maharaj, my spiritual adviser and greatest inspiration,
the acknowledged Hindu leader for all of Trinidad, performed the
elaborate ceremony. Proudly I assisted. It was a great occasion for
me. Fingering a large, fragrant garland of flowers around my neck, I
stood near the altar greeting the guests after the ceremony. A
neighbor laid several pieces of money one after another at my feet,
and bowed to receive my blessing – the Shakti pat that every
worshiper craved because of its supernatural effect. I knew her to be
a poor widow who earned pitifully little for her long hours of hard
labor. The offerings I received at one ceremony would far exceed her
wages for a month. The gods had decreed this system of giving to
Brahmins, and the Vedas declared it to be of great benefit to the
giver, so why should I feel guilty? Uncle Deonarine's words rose
vividly before me in all their venom: 'It's a business with all of
them; they do nothing without pay … mainly from the poor!' I
glanced at her small offering of coins uncomfortably. Of course I had
much to give her in exchange. Reaching out to touch her forehead in
bestowal of my blessing, I was startled by a voice of unmistakable
omnipotent authority: 'You are not God, Rabi!' My arm froze in
midair. 'You … are … not … God!' The words smote
me like the slash of a cutlass felling the tall green cane.
Instinctively I knew that the true God, the Creator of all, had
spoken these words, and I began to tremble. It was a fraud, a blatant
deception to pretend to bless this bowing woman. I pulled back my
hand, acutely aware that many eyes were watching and wondering. I
felt that I must fall at the holy feet of the true God and ask his
forgiveness – but how could I explain that to all these
people!' Abruptly I turned and pushed my way through the crowd,
leaving that poor woman staring after me in bewilderment. Inside my
room, I locked the door, tore the garland of flowers from around my
neck with trembling fingers, flung it to the floor, and fell across
my bed, sobbing." (Rabindranath R. Maharaj with Dave Hunt, Death
of a Guru, Hodder and Stoughton, Great Britain 1986, pages 107-108)

As you can see, God
resists those who believe they are God. And since the purpose of yoga
is to lead men to believe they are God, we conclude that the father
of yoga is the devil.

Yoga is of the devil
because through it a man reaches an altered state of consciousness,
which is the doorway to the occult. In other words, yoga is of the
devil because it enables those who practice it to contact evil
spirits (demons), that is, to see them, to talk with them, and to
receive occult powers from them. In some cases yoga leads to
demon-possession, as in the case of those in whom the kundalini power
is aroused. I will cite again some words of brother Rabindranath R.
Maharaj, who used to practice yoga every day when he was a guru, to
show you how dangerous is the practice of yoga:

"Before
the age of ten, in addition to my daily meditation, I practiced Yoga
– the positions, breathing exercises, and meditation – on
the veranda outside my room from midnight to 1:30 A. M., when
everyone else was asleep. I did either Brumadhya Drishti or Madhyama
Drishti. This concentration, combined with the breathing exercises,
projected me into realms of consciousness totally unrelated to the
world around me. Through Yoga I experienced increasingly the presence
of spirit beings who were guiding me and giving me psychic powers.
The gods were real!" (Rabindranath R. Maharaj, op. cit., pages
89-90); "Nothing was more important than our daily
transcendental meditation, the heart of Yoga, which Krishna advocated
as the surest way to eternal Bliss. But it could also be dangerous.
Frightening psychic experiences awaited the unwary meditator, similar
to a bad trip on drugs. Demons described in the Vedas had been known
to take possession of some Yogis. Kundalini power, said to be coiled
like a serpent at the base of the spine, could produce ecstatic
experiences when released in deep meditation – or, if not
properly controlled, it could do great mental and even bodily harm.
The line between ecstasy and horror was very fine. For that reason we
initiates were closely supervised by the Brahmacharya and his
assistant. During the daily meditation I began to have visions of
psychedelic colors, to hear unearthly music, and to visit exotic
planets where the gods conversed with me, encouraging me to attain
even higher states of consciousness. Sometimes in my trance I
encountered the same horrible demonic creatures that are depicted by
the images in Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, and other religious temples.
It was a frightful experience, but the Brahmacharya explained that it
was normal and urged me to pursue the quest for Self-realization. At
times I experienced a sense of mystical unity with the universe. I
was the universe, Lord of all, omnipotent, omnipresent." (Ibid.,
56-57); "Often while I was in deep meditation the gods became
visible and talked with me. At times I seemed to be transported by
astral projection to distant planets or to worlds in other
dimensions. It would be years before I would learn that such
experiences were being duplicated in laboratories under the watchful
eyes of parapsychologists through the use of hypnosis and LSD. In my
Yogic trances most often I would be alone with Shiva the Destroyer,
sitting fearfully at his feet, the huge cobra coiled about his neck
staring at me, hissing and darting out its tongue threateningly."
(Ibid., page 75).

Having demonstrated then
that through yoga one is led to believe that he is God (as well as
that through it one can achieve the liberation from the cycle of
reincarnation, which is another lie), and that yoga induces a state
of trance in which demons manifest themselves by appearing to those
who practice yoga and by taking possession of them, it is evident
that every Christian must flee yoga, lest he give place to the devil.

Let no one deceive you
with vain words such as "You can practice yoga apart from the
philosophical and religious beliefs that are behind it!", for it
is not possible to separate yoga from the philosophy which is behind
it.

Know this, that there is
but one way to have access to God, and this way is Jesus Christ. If a
man wants to know the only true God who created the universe (but He
is not the universe), whose throne is in heaven, he must repent and
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in this way he can unite
himself with the Lord and become "one spirit with Him" (1
Corinthians 6:17). Of course, he will not become God, for he will
remain a creature of God separated from His Creator. All the other
ways, yoga included, are ways which don't lead man to the knowledge
of God nor to the union with Him. If a man has already come to the
knowledge of God through Christ, he can have access to God only by
His Son, for Paul says that in Christ Jesus "we have boldness
and access with confidence through faith in Him" (Ephesians
3:12). Note that it is through faith in Jesus – and not through
a practice such as yoga – that we have access to the Father. I
say this because there are some people who have created the so called
"Christian yoga," through which – they claim –
a Christian can have access to God. Brothers, let no one deceive you.
Draw near to the Father through Christ, that is, in His name; whether
you pray or sing do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but do
not resort to this so called "Christian yoga" in order to
draw near to God, for yoga – being an eastern practice rooted
in occultism – cannot become a Christian practice, just as
spiritism cannot become a Christian practice. Know this, that there
is no such thing as "Christian yoga," just as there is no
such thing as "Christian spiritism". If a practice is
Christian, that is, if a practice is biblical and thus we are allowed
to follow it, it can't be influenced by Hinduism nor by occultism,
for everything the Bible and the Church commands us to do is pure and
just, free from all kinds of errors or superstitions. So I warn you
against the so called Christian yoga, for it is a device of the devil
to introduce into the Church the Hindu philosophy which is rooted in
occultism.

Remember that in the days
of the prophet Isaiah God forsook the Israelites for they were
"filled with eastern ways" (Isaiah 2:6).

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